This time it’s the “enernet,” not the internet, that will transform our lives. The story is the same, though the players have changed.

Here’s the tee up. Across the country, incumbent network providers operate highly centralized networks in their respective cities. Then, scrappy local outfits start serving the market with innovative, distributed technology. These startups create competition, and a new network emerges atop the legacy network.

That was the backdrop 30 years ago when a little thing called the internet emerged. Startups like CompuServe, AOL, EarthLink, Netcom and a host of other local ISPs kicked off the conversion from analog to digital by offering internet access over existing cable and telco networks.

Today, the actors are SolarCity, Sunrun and a host of others moving us off fossil fuels and into clean energy supported by smart equipment, services and software, offered atop existing utility networks. This time, it’s the enernet.

Enernet. Noun. A dynamic, distributed, redundant and multi-participant energy network built around clean energy generation, storage and delivery and serving as the foundation for smart cities.

There is a long list of enernet innovators now emerging. They are building nanogrids, microgrids, distributed energy resources and virtual power plants. They are creating new, intelligent building materials and smart lighting. They are deploying new networks and intelligence that are driving down costs and improving services.

At heart, the enernet is the foundation for smart-city tech, including the “Internet of Things,” distributed systems, interconnected backbones and networking technologies, EV-charging services and autonomous vehicles, to name a few. These technologies will drive dramatic change and force us to rethink our cities, municipal services and sectors like transportation, insurance, real estate and financial services.

From the enernet evolution will come smart cities that are an order-of-magnitude smarter, healthier and safer. The new network will also present quantum leaps in energy security and emergency resilience that can stand in the face of superstorms or cyberattacks.

Hold on to your seats. We’re at the early stages of something immense.

Still, I hear the seeds of fear and doubt. There is an oft-cited refrain that the transition will cost a lot and take a long time. That’s absolutely silly. We don’t look back at the internet transformation from analog to digital and think, “Wow, that was slow and cost a ton of money. We should have stuck with the typewriter and landline.” Fact is, it was blazingly fast and driven by those who understood the spend as leveraged investment, not cost center.

Likewise, the move to clean energy will seem fast and prudent as solar and energy storage continue to scale, smart cities accelerate and prices continue their fall.

I also hear “the utilities are in big trouble.” Let’s not be simplistic. Google didn’t kill Comcast. Comcast is doing just fine. The utilities that own transmission and distribution networks (the wires companies) have enormous value and opportunity ahead. There is no way that the transition happens without the participation of these companies, and there is considerable economic upside ahead for them. Forward-thinking utilities — Consolidated Edison, National Grid and others — see what’s coming and are poised to thrive in the enernet world.

Sure, fossil-fuel generators and suppliers have challenges ahead, just like the content companies were challenged by newer, more flexible, cost-effective content producers. It’ll be up to the management teams at these companies to de-risk the future with intelligent investment and acquisitions. Hats off to folks like David Crane, a visionary who worked to drive that transition at NRG Energy. We will see more of that type of leadership again over the next 10 years as market dynamics shift and outcomes become more obvious and urgent to the incumbents.

That said, enernet innovation, like innovation in every other sector, is unlikely to originate from within the incumbents. If you don’t believe me, read books like The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen or this article from Accenture that asserts “corporate innovation does not work.” Unless a Lou Gerstner or Steve Jobs is at the helm of an incumbent, innovation will be acquired, not grown.

This backdrop presents incredible opportunity for startups and early investors in the space. I’m excited to be part of that, and I hope that talented entrepreneurs turn their attention from the app economy to the enernet. There’s enormous upside.

As I said, we’ve seen this movie. Let’s stop acting surprised, and instead start acting. An economic powerhouse awaits the United States. We’ll be thankful we chose to become a worldwide enernet leader, as this evolution creates a new kind of healthy, robust economy.

This time it’s the “enernet,” not the internet, that will transform our lives. The story is the same, though the players have changed.

Here’s the tee up. Across the country, incumbent network providers operate highly centralized networks in their respective cities. Then, scrappy local outfits start serving the market with innovative, distributed technology. These startups create competition, and a new network emerges atop the legacy network.

That was the backdrop 30 years ago when a little thing called the internet emerged. Startups like CompuServe, AOL, EarthLink, Netcom and a host of other local ISPs kicked off the conversion from analog to digital by offering internet access over existing cable and telco networks.

Today, the actors are SolarCity, Sunrun and a host of others moving us off fossil fuels and into clean energy supported by smart equipment, services and software, offered atop existing utility networks. This time, it’s the enernet.

Enernet. Noun. A dynamic, distributed, redundant and multi-participant energy network built around clean energy generation, storage and delivery and serving as the foundation for smart cities.

There is a long list of enernet innovators now emerging. They are building nanogrids, microgrids, distributed energy resources and virtual power plants. They are creating new, intelligent building materials and smart lighting. They are deploying new networks and intelligence that are driving down costs and improving services.

At heart, the enernet is the foundation for smart-city tech, including the “Internet of Things,” distributed systems, interconnected backbones and networking technologies, EV-charging services and autonomous vehicles, to name a few. These technologies will drive dramatic change and force us to rethink our cities, municipal services and sectors like transportation, insurance, real estate and financial services.

From the enernet evolution will come smart cities that are an order-of-magnitude smarter, healthier and safer. The new network will also present quantum leaps in energy security and emergency resilience that can stand in the face of superstorms or cyberattacks.

Hold on to your seats. We’re at the early stages of something immense.

Still, I hear the seeds of fear and doubt. There is an oft-cited refrain that the transition will cost a lot and take a long time. That’s absolutely silly. We don’t look back at the internet transformation from analog to digital and think, “Wow, that was slow and cost a ton of money. We should have stuck with the typewriter and landline.” Fact is, it was blazingly fast and driven by those who understood the spend as leveraged investment, not cost center.

Likewise, the move to clean energy will seem fast and prudent as solar and energy storage continue to scale, smart cities accelerate and prices continue their fall.

I also hear “the utilities are in big trouble.” Let’s not be simplistic. Google didn’t kill Comcast. Comcast is doing just fine. The utilities that own transmission and distribution networks (the wires companies) have enormous value and opportunity ahead. There is no way that the transition happens without the participation of these companies, and there is considerable economic upside ahead for them. Forward-thinking utilities — Consolidated Edison, National Grid and others — see what’s coming and are poised to thrive in the enernet world.

Sure, fossil-fuel generators and suppliers have challenges ahead, just like the content companies were challenged by newer, more flexible, cost-effective content producers. It’ll be up to the management teams at these companies to de-risk the future with intelligent investment and acquisitions. Hats off to folks like David Crane, a visionary who worked to drive that transition at NRG Energy. We will see more of that type of leadership again over the next 10 years as market dynamics shift and outcomes become more obvious and urgent to the incumbents.

That said, enernet innovation, like innovation in every other sector, is unlikely to originate from within the incumbents. If you don’t believe me, read books like The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen or this article from Accenture that asserts “corporate innovation does not work.” Unless a Lou Gerstner or Steve Jobs is at the helm of an incumbent, innovation will be acquired, not grown.

This backdrop presents incredible opportunity for startups and early investors in the space. I’m excited to be part of that, and I hope that talented entrepreneurs turn their attention from the app economy to the enernet. There’s enormous upside.

As I said, we’ve seen this movie. Let’s stop acting surprised, and instead start acting. An economic powerhouse awaits the United States. We’ll be thankful we chose to become a worldwide enernet leader, as this evolution creates a new kind of healthy, robust economy.

A recent report from Navigant Research analyzes the European market for residential and commercial building energy efficient products and services, including market forecasts for revenue through 2023.

Stringent regulations that apply across the European Union (EU) have contributed to the development of a growing market for energy efficient buildings in Europe. At the same time, mandatory changes to country-level building codes are increasing the performance requirements that apply to new construction and major renovations of existing buildings, with the goal of delivering nearly zero energy buildings by 2019 and 2021 for public and private buildings, respectively. According to a recent report from Navigant Research, continent-wide revenue from energy efficient buildings in Europe, including products and services, is expected to grow from €41.4 billion ($56 billion) annually in 2014 to €80.8 billion ($109 billion) in 2023.

“Buildings account for 40 percent of Europe’s final energy consumption, and represent a key focus in efforts to improve overall energy efficiency,” says Noah Goldstein, research director with Navigant Research. “The policy landscape for energy efficiency in Europe is among the most stringent in the world, making it a laboratory for technologies and strategies that could be exported to other regions.”

The key piece of continent-wide legislation governing the building sector, according to the report, is the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which applies to new construction and major building renovations. It includes a number of key elements, including a progressive tightening of building codes leading to requirements for nearly zero energy buildings for public buildings by 2019 and private buildings by 2021; inspections of large energy-consuming mechanical equipment; energy performance rating of buildings; and the introduction of financial instruments to improve building energy performance.

The report, “Energy Efficient Buildings: Europe,” analyzes the European market for residential and commercial building energy efficient products and services. It summarizes the market drivers and barriers for energy efficient products and services, including energy service company (ESCO) energy performance contracting, across the policy and technology landscape in Europe. Market forecasts for revenue, broken out by product, development, and building type and European region, extend through 2023. The report also examines the key technologies related to building energy efficient products and services, as well as the competitive landscape. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

A new report from Navigant Research examines the demand response (DR) market for the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, including global market forecasts for capacity, sites, and revenue through 2023.

In recent years, DR in the commercial and industrial sector has matured and is now treated in some electricity markets as a resource equivalent to generation. The changing resource mix in electric grids globally is creating more opportunities for DR to play a pivotal role in balancing loads and ensuring a reliable supply of electricity, particularly during peak demand episodes. According to a new report from Navigant Research, the number of worldwide commercial and industrial DR sites is expected to grow from 92,000 in 2014 to more than 1 million in 2023.

“Although the uncertainty surrounding the pending federal court case regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s rules on DR compensation has cast a cloud over the sector, there are plenty of other drivers that can lead to continued expansion in the future,” says Brett Feldman, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “Currently, almost all of the C&I DR activity is taking place in the United States, but this leadership position is expected to erode over the next 10 years, as all world regions move from pilot programs to building out full-scale markets.”

As DR has taken on a more prominent role, regulators and other market participants are calling for tighter requirements to ensure reliable operations and efficient markets. Market rule changes that attempt to standardize rules between DR and generation may place more requirements and risk on DR, according to the report. As DR is relied upon more, it is likely to fall under greater regulatory supervision.

The report, “Demand Response for Commercial & Industrial Markets,” examines the C&I DR market in five major geographic regions. The study provides an analysis of the major market drivers and barriers, as well as global market players and dynamics, associated with C&I DR. Global market forecasts for C&I DR capacity, sites, and revenue, broken out by segment and region, extend through 2023. The report also examines the key technologies related to C&I DR, as well as the competitive landscape. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

A new report from Navigant Research provides a global analysis of major developments and trends in the fuel cell industry, including global market forecasts for fuel cell systems and capacity shipped and system revenue through 2023.

During 2013 and 2014, the fuel cell market continued to see the greatest demand from stationary applications, including utility-scale fuel cells, fuel cells for industrial and commercial buildings, and fuel cells for residential power. The spread of distributed generation (DG), which represents a shift away from traditional centralized power generation model toward a more diverse and resilient grid infrastructure, is helping to drive strong interest in stationary fuel cells. According to a new report from Navigant Research, worldwide shipments of fuel cell systems are expected to exceed 1.5 million annually by 2023.

“Fuel cells fit neatly into the spectrum of technologies that support the DG movement,” says Lisa Jerram, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “As a result, Navigant Research sees the stationary fuel cell sector as the one with the strongest global potential, in terms of fuel cell systems shipped, within the fuel cell market in both the near- and long-term.”

Another significant trend during the last 2 years, according to the report, has been the revival of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). The market is seeing a surge of media attention as several automakers prepare to launch commercial FCVs in 2015. FCV sales will likely drive growth in the transportation fuel cell market, which is expected surpass the stationary sector in terms of capacity in 2017 even though more stationary fuel cells will be shipped than FCVs.

The report, “Fuel Cells Annual Report 2014,” provides a global analysis of major developments and trends in the fuel cell industry, with a focus on the stationary, portable, and transportation sectors. It features an analysis of actual fuel cell systems and capacity shipped from 2010 to 2013, segmented by region, sector, application, electrolyte, and fuel type, as well as system revenue. Global market forecasts for fuel cell systems and capacity shipped and system revenue extend through 2023. The study also includes a special section on the growing interest in DG and profiles more than 30 companies active in the global fuel cell industry. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.